BNP decides to contest Upazila polls

The BNP has decided to contest the upcoming Upazila elections, backpedalling from its earlier decision on boycotting the local government polls after alleging vote rigging in the last parliamentary polls.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s National Standing Committee in Dhaka on Saturday.

"We’ve decided to contest the elections to eight Upazilas with the party symbol," Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the party secretary general, said after the meeting.

The elections in the Upazilas are scheduled for Oct 14.

The BNP had filed complaints with the Election Commission alleging massive vote rigging in the Dec 30 parliamentary elections. After that, it boycotted the Upazila council elections.

Even, it expelled the leaders who contested the polls ignoring the party decision.

But recently it showed lenience towards those leaders.

The BNP will brief the media about the decisions taken in the meeting at the party's central office in Naya Paltan at 11am on Sunday.